sabbatical 2019 - Jesus Birth

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We visited places related to Jesus birth today. the home town of Elizabeth, the place where Mary and Eiizabeth probably had their discussion about being pregnant with John and Jesus that is shared in Luke. These places - Mary's spring and The Church of the Visitation, are so old. The well from the 4th century church remains. Then we saw the Church of the Nativity built over the site of Jesus' presumed birth place by Constantine in 339 AD. The building standing today remains from 659 AD when Justinian revised the building with an altar area - same columns and mosaic floor Constantine had built and same wooden beamed roof - 1500 years old. The oldest church in the world where worship has continued ever since then, and 4 congregations share the holy space, even worshiping at the same time on Sunday! - Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, Catholic, and Russian Orthodox. We read the Luke passage 1:39 "Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country (where we were today) with haste, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Elizabeth. And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit...." Becky and I wept as this scripture was read in the very spot Elizabeth and Mary may have been.

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Comments

[Larry and Linda]

Wow!
Thank you for sharing. We look forward to more notes and photos.